DEAR EVAN HANSEN Sets September 18 Closing Date on Broadway- Page 3

[ATerrifyingAndImposingFigure]

Posted: 6/7/22 at 6:56pm

Yeah I don't really have an issue with Platt's acting in the film, it's just that he looks so wrong for it. I actually originally thought he might look fine, but they caked him in so much makeup he was at times frightening.

I didn't care at all for Stephen Chobsky's direction, but I also don't blame him too much either, just because I think the original show is just too stagey to work as a film.

Personally I'd place more blame on Steven Levenson's writing. Between the new material that adds little, removing most of Connor's role and the crucial look into Evans mind, greatly diminishing the adult perspective, and so on, I wouldn't have even guessed that he wrote the original book if I didn't know before watching. Of course, I don't know how much some of this is his own ideas or what he was told to do by higher ups.

 

[Mr. Wormwood]

Posted: 6/7/22 at 7:19pm

I saw this show once with Ben Platt and once with Taylor Trensch. Platt was just incredible on stage but I thought the show held up well without him too. I found it to be very moving both times I saw it. I do think the combination of the pandemic and the movie made the perception of it change from hip and fresh to tired and a little bit problematic. I'll be curious to see what kind of life this has in regional theatre in future years.

[Wick3]

Posted: 6/7/22 at 8:10pm

This past week the show grossed $508k. If the weekly grosses continue to be in the low $500k or high $400k, do you think the show might close sooner than Sept 18th?

Does anyone know what the weekly costs are for DEH nowadays?

[ShowBro]

Posted: 6/7/22 at 8:17pm

OceansJenny said: "So when’s a good time to go before closing? Is it worth revisiting with the current cast?"

Nah, the show is dead. RIP.

 

[quizking101]

Posted: 6/7/22 at 8:32pm

Jarethan said: "quizking101 said: "Damn. A giant has fallen. Though I kinda figured this would happen soon after the major black eye that god-awful movie gave to the show’s brand…"

Not sure if that is the reason. The Phantom movie was a disaster — although I did enjoy it — and the show is still running more than a decade later. I think there were a few others, it can’t recall right now, so I may be wrong.


i wonder if it is suffering from the same disease some of the more serious shows have been suffering…’if I am going to have to wear a mask, I want to be sure that it will make me happy OR that it has stars’. Realize it is a musical, but seems to be similar to Hangmen, The Minutes, North Country, and other shows; despite very good reviews, they are not incenting people to attend. OR maybe it just reached the end of the line, which seems to be the case with CFA also. We will never know how many performances they would have run if Covid had not occurred, but I imagine their eventual total number of performances will have been seriously impacted."

I don't think the film is the ONLY reason, but I do think a poorly-made adaptation of an ethically questionable musical helped take some wind out of the sails. 

PHANTOM was a worldwide phenomenon well before the movie came out. The show was practically bulletproof.

[inception]

Posted: 6/7/22 at 9:38pm

Any discount codes floating around?

[MichelleCraig]

Posted: 6/7/22 at 10:25pm

I guess there’s a reason why film versions of THE SOUND OF MUSIC, FIDDLER ON THE ROOF, and CABARET were made after the shows had closed on Broadway. 

Had DEAR EVAN HANSEN been a great movie, it could‘ve helped to keep the show running.

Alas, the film adaptation of DEAR EVAN HANSEN was no CHICAGO.

 

[The Distinctive Baritone]

Posted: 6/7/22 at 11:59pm

How strange that last night I finally saw the film version, which really is pretty terrible - making me wonder how the Broadway version can survive the damage, and literally the next day it announces it’s closing.

[MadsonMelo]

Posted: 6/8/22 at 12:58am

''Evan'' was a hit because of Platt? Likely, but certainly didn't need him to survive, the only time the show made 2M+ was without Platt.

The show, while enjoying the success of the Tony love and the ''fresh'' aspect was doing 1.6-1.7M a week for a long time (the producers did really got a lot of money out of this cow), but in 2019 the grosses were already in the 1-1.2M a week, pre-COVID they had many weeks under 1M.

Had we not went through the pandemic, and the movie, I would say ''Evan'' would had been gone by now.

It was a hit, last 3-4 years and it would been done. Happens very often.

And again, most people didn't even saw the movie version of the show.

[Wick3]

Posted: 6/8/22 at 1:44am

It hit over $2M during holiday period in Dec 2017. Platt left in Nov 2017 but his end date was announced a month before. As we all know, average theatergoer wouldn’t know when the Tony winner leaves and so many premium tix are sold during holiday period.

[bear88]

Posted: 6/8/22 at 1:45am

The irony for me is that my older daughter recently discovered Dear Evan Hansen and liked it a lot more than I expected. She saw it on Broadway during a quick NYC trip this spring, saw it again on tour in Denver last weekend.

The show really was a sensation for a long while, the biggest new musical since Hamilton. I thought it was a well-crafted show that resonated with a lot of the upper middle class parents who saw it. (One of the movie's many mistakes, I thought, was de-emphasizing the parents - even though it wouldn't have mattered.) I was never as bothered by the show's ethics as some, because Evan's actions by Act Two were obviously awful. The only thing that annoyed me was its ability to have it both ways, including the "You Will Be Found" marketing campaign.

And that worked, until it didn't. The Toronto flop was a harbinger of sorts. It seemed like everyone who hated the musical was just waiting for the movie to unleash their wrath. And the film did them all an enormous favor by being such an easy target. But the show was never as bad as its critics made it out to be. It wasn't my favorite musical from that season but it was good at what it did. My daughter was telling me about all the people sniffling in the theater in Denver. As a stage musical, it still works. But like almost everything, it went out of fashion.

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 6/8/22 at 1:03pm

Someone on Twitter pointed out the announcement for the west end closing was at the end of may and the Broadway announcement was in early June.

Updated On: 6/9/22 at 01:03 PM

[JSquared2]

Posted: 6/8/22 at 1:07pm

Call_me_jorge said: "Someone on Twitter pointed out the show announced it was closing in the west end at the end of may and and on Broadway in early June."

 

Well obviously "someone on Twitter" was incorrect.  SHOCKING!!

 

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 6/8/22 at 1:11pm

JSquared2 said: "Call_me_jorge said: "Someone on Twitter pointed out the show announced it was closing in the west end at the end of may and and on Broadway in early June."



Well obviously "someone on Twitter" was incorrect. SHOCKING!!

"

ANNOUNCED they were closing… don’t know if you saw that. That Twitter user is correct. 

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 6/8/22 at 1:17pm

JSquared2 said: "Call_me_jorge said: "Someone on Twitter pointed out the show announced it was closing in the west end at the end of may and and on Broadway in early June."



Well obviously "someone on Twitter" was incorrect. SHOCKING!!

"

Someone can’t read apparently

[dramamama611]

Posted: 6/8/22 at 1:32pm

Actually, its a poorly worded sentence.  The way it's written, JSquared is correct. 

 

I'm not going to get all English teacher on y'all - but I could.  

[Melissa25]

Posted: 6/8/22 at 2:53pm

This was one of the rare times that I did not see the transfer to Broadway. I had such an incredibly nice experience witnessing this creation at Second Stage. I was so moved by the music, lyrics and all the performances that I just wanted to savor that memory. I have more than a few savored memories from Second Stage. I guess I just love the intimacy of that venue. Dogfight was another one of those memories. What is the next Pasek and Paul musical?

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 6/8/22 at 3:22pm

Melissa25 said: "This was one of the rare times that I did not see the transfer to Broadway. I had such an incredibly nice experience witnessing this creation at Second Stage. I was so moved by the music, lyrics and all the performances that I just wanted to savor that memory. I have more than a few savored memories from Second Stage. I guess I just love the intimacy of that venue. Dogfight was another one of those memories. What is the next Pasek and Paul musical?
"

Funny you should mention Dogfight. I was just giving Hansen another listen upon yesterday’s closing notice, and I hear a lot of its echoes in many ways. 

“And I suddenly feel the branch GIVE WAY…”

I still think Dogfight is PP’s seminal work. I too would love to hear more from them in the future, though. 

[Andres LaFrazia]

Posted: 6/8/22 at 6:19pm

My Video opinions on Deh closing , though the movie wasn't what killed the show, it had been on a decline since 2019

[RippedMan]

Posted: 6/8/22 at 6:23pm

EDSOSLO858 said: "Melissa25 said: "This was one of the rare times that I did not see the transfer to Broadway. I had such an incredibly nice experience witnessing this creation at Second Stage. I was so moved by the music, lyrics and all the performances that I just wanted to savor that memory. I have more than a few savored memories from Second Stage. I guess I just love the intimacy of that venue. Dogfight was another one of those memories. What is the next Pasek and Paul musical?
"

Funny you should mentionDogfight. I was just givingHansenanother listen upon yesterday’s closing notice, and I hear a lot of its echoes in many ways.

“And I suddenly feel the branch GIVE WAY…”

I still thinkDogfightis PP’s seminal work. I too would love to hear more from them in the future, though."

Agreed. LOVE Dogfight. But it's a pretty depressing show so I get why it wouldn't work in the mainstream. 

This had a great run and it'll be around regionally and I'm sure embark on a non-union tour. 

[mikey2573]

Posted: 6/8/22 at 7:56pm

If the producers were smart, they'd bring back Rachel Bay Jones, put in a really strong Evan, and then film the show with Gaten in as Jarrod.  Then, wait a year and put it on a streaming platform like Netflix.  It would bring in more revenue, and it might wash away  the nasty taste the movie gave people.  

[Kad]

Posted: 6/8/22 at 8:25pm

I question how much the movie actually had to do with this. It wasn't widely seen and was quickly forgotten by the general public. Some things just have a sell-by date, and I think DEH was always a show that was extremely dependent on the strength of its leads to plaster over its weaknesses.

That being said, this will be produced regionally for years.

[suicidalmickeymouse]

Posted: 6/8/22 at 11:14pm

I feel like they should have filmed it with Jordan Fisher. 

[MikeInTheDistrict]

Posted: 6/8/22 at 11:30pm

Several people mention that most people didn’t see the movie but, in the age of social media, people don’t actually have had to sit through the movie for it to have soured the general perception of the show.
 

The movie (and particularly Platt’s hair and makeup) became a HUGE meme. On Twitter, Reddit, YouTube, Instagram/Facebook, not to mention the merciless reviews and unforgiving think pieces and autopsies in the traditional media outlets brought immense scrutiny and ridicule, if not outright disdain, to the property.
 

The film might not have been solely responsible for this closing (as others mentioned, a lot of the hype and relevance has died down, especially post-pandemic), but it definitely damaged brand perception for the general public who now only know the show from the memes the movie gave way to. 

[Wick3]

Posted: 6/9/22 at 12:07am

Platt's haircut when he performed Evan on Broadway was fine.... not sure why they changed it for the film.